A restaurant employee who daily commutes between Long An Province, southern Vietnam and neighboring Ho Chi Minh City has been confirmed as the first Mpox (monkeypox) case in Long An, the provincial health authority said on Tuesday.

The provincial Center for Disease Control was earlier informed by the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City that this 42-year-old- patient tested positive for Mpox after he visited the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Dermato-Venereology for skin lesions across his body.

This patient lives in Long An’s Can Giuoc District and works at a restaurant in Thu Duc City, an administrative district in Ho Chi Minh City, from 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm every day.

He lives in the same house with a 31-year-old vehicle mechanic.

The patient earlier had close contact with a group of his friends in Ho Chi Minh City several months ago.

He is in stable condition, with the lesions on his arms already drying up.

The health of the vehicle mechanic remains normal. He did not have a fever and swollen lymph nodes.

According to the Long An Center for Disease Control, the victim was allowed to quarantine at home and was told to notify healthcare workers of new symptoms, if any.

The Mpox victim was also briefed on measures to frequently disinfect his home and other items in shared spaces, use a fan instead of an air conditioner.

Since the patient only came into close contact with his housemate, the transmission rate of this Mpox case in the province was said to be very low.

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